Pakistan’s leading filmmaker nominated for two more Emmys for gender justice docuseries

Producer Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy takes part in a Q&A following HBO's documentary screening of the Oscar winning film "Saving Face" at Asia Society on March 5, 2012 in New York City. (AFP)
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Updated 30 June 2021
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Pakistan’s leading filmmaker nominated for two more Emmys for gender justice docuseries

  • Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy produced the five-episode series in collaboration with the Global Fund for Women
  • Shot in five different countries, series becomes first YouTube original series production from Pakistan

RAWALPINDI: A docuseries produced by Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has been nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in New York, the movie maker and her team confirmed to Arab News on Wednesday.
The series — “Fundamental. Gender Justice. No Exceptions” — has been shot in five countries in collaboration with Obaid-Chinoy’s SOC Films and the Global Fund for Women.
Each episode of the series profiles grassroots movements and community leaders striving to address gender-justice issues in their respective social and political context.
The episode on Pakistan focuses on Rukhshanda Naz, an attorney, who is fighting to end child marriage in the country.




This photo taken in 2019 shows Pakistani human rights lawyer Rukhshanda Naz in Peshawar during the making of “Fundamental. Gender Justice. No Exceptions.” (Photo courtesy: SOC Films)

“It was incredible for our producers, and our camera team to be able to travel to Brazil, Georgia, the United States, Kenya to tell stories of activists on the ground in all those countries and to realize that women around the world still have major advances to make in order for them to have equal rights,” Obaid-Chinoy told Arab News on the phone. “We have been able to show the champions and the struggles to a global audience, allowing us to shine a light on activists who are risking their lives literally every day to create a better tomorrow.”




In this picture taken in 2019, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s film crew conducts an interview in Brazil for the docuseries “Fundamental. Gender Justice. No Exceptions.” (Photo courtesy: SOC Films)

In addition to Global Fund for Women, she added, the series was created with YouTube and joined the ranks of the platform’s original series productions, something no other Pakistani production house has accomplished as yet.
“For SOC Films to be given this opportunity to create a YouTube original series means that our team is able to compete with the best in the world,” the filmmaker said. “I am proud of the fact that we are creating the next generation of storytellers from Pakistan, not just men and women who can tell stories of Pakistan but men and women who are capable of telling any story, anywhere in the world.”
The producers of the series concurred with Obaid-Chinoy.




In this picture taken in 2019, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s film crew conducts an interview in Wisconsin, USA, for the docuseries “Fundamental. Gender Justice. No Exceptions.” (Photo courtesy: SOC Films)

“Producing the Fundamentals series has been one of the highlights of my career as it brought to me the opportunity to meet some brilliant women rights champions and activists from all around the world including Pakistan, USA, Brazil and Georgia,” Safyah Zafar Usmani, who worked with Obaid-Chinoy to produce the episodes, told Arab News.




In this picture taken in 2019, SOC Film works on its docuseries “Fundamental. Gender Justice. No Exceptions.” in Georgia. (Photo courtesy: SOC Films)

“We have achieved this feat,” said her co-producer Shahrukh Waheed, “while living and making films in a country where there are no real venues for documentary filmmakers to feature their work or a thriving culture of documentary viewership but our passion for telling amazing stories of empowerment, hope and resilience have brought our films to the eyes of the world. That’s a great feeling.”




In this picture taken in 2019, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s film crew conducts an interview in Kenya for the docuseries “Fundamental. Gender Justice. No Exceptions.” (Photo courtesy: SOC Films)

SOC Films and Obaid-Chinoy have previously won four Emmys, including the best documentary award for “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness” and “Saving Face.”
The filmmaker won the outstanding current affairs documentary award for “Children of the Taliban.”
The 48th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be celebrated in two live-streamed events on July 17 and July 18, 2021.


Cop among two killed in separate IED blasts in northwestern Pakistan

Updated 23 November 2024
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Cop among two killed in separate IED blasts in northwestern Pakistan

  • No group has so far claimed responsibility for blasts which took place in Bajaur tribal district
  • Seventy-five police personnel have been killed, 113 injured in militant attacks in KP this year

PESHAWAR: A police constable and a civilian were killed in separate Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, police said, as Islamabad struggles to contain surging militancy in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
The IED blasts took place in the northwestern Bajaur tribal district on Saturday morning, killing one cop and a civilian.
As per official data, 75 police personnel have been killed and 113 injured in militant attacks and targeted assassinations in KP province this year.
“Both blasts were reported in the premises of Loi Mamund police station earlier today,” Bajaur Police spokesperson Muhammad Israr told Arab News.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts so far.
“An IED was placed in front of the policeman’s house which detonated when he was leaving home for duty at around 9:30 am in Mena village of Loi Mamund,” Israr added.
He said the other blast took place around 8:00 am in Irab village, also located within the vicinity of Loi Mamund police station, in which one person was killed.
Israr said police have started investigating both incidents.
Pakistan blames the surge in militancy in KP province, which borders Afghanistan, on the Pakistani Taliban militants that it alleges have found safe havens in Afghanistan.
Kabul denies the allegations and urges Pakistan to resolve its security challenges on its own. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since November 2022 when a fragile truce between the Pakistani state and the Pakistani Taliban broke down.


Mourners in Pakistan’s Kurram district demand inquiry after sectarian clashes kill 41

Updated 23 November 2024
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Mourners in Pakistan’s Kurram district demand inquiry after sectarian clashes kill 41

  • Gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying 41 members of Shiite community in Kurram district on Thursday
  • Authorities impose curfew, suspend mobile phone services in district long plagued by sectarian clashes

ISLAMABAD: Mourners in northwestern Pakistan’s Kurram district on Saturday demanded the government hold a transparent inquiry into sectarian clashes that killed 41 people this week, as fear grips the restive area days after the attack. 
Authorities imposed a curfew and suspended mobile phone services in Kurram district after 41 people were killed on Thursday when gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying members of the minority Shiite community. 
The assault, one of the deadliest such attacks in recent years in the area, took place in the district where sectarian clashes have killed dozens of people in recent months. 
“A transparent inquiry of this incident should be carried out,” Hayat Abbas Najafi, one of the mourners, told Reuters at one of the district’s main towns Parachinar during a funeral ceremony. 
“We call on the government as well as security institutions that Parchinar, which is a great part of Pakistan, should be saved from sectarianism and should be provided safety and security.”
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came a week after authorities reopened a key highway in the region that had been closed for weeks following deadly clashes.
Previous clashes in July and September killed dozens of people and ended only after a tribal council called for a ceasefire.
Sajjad Hussain, another mourner, said among those killed were infants as young as six months old and women.
“They were innocent passengers. What was their fault,” he asked. 
Shop owners in Parachinar announced a three-day strike on Friday to protest the attack while locals described an atmosphere of fear across the district following the incident. 
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called the shootings a “terrorist attack.” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack, and Sharif said those behind the killing of innocent civilians will not go unpunished.
Shiite Muslims make up about 15 percent of the 240 million population of Sunni-majority Pakistan.
With inputs from Reuters


UAE promotes Arab culture and cuisine at three-day festival in Karachi 

Updated 23 November 2024
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UAE promotes Arab culture and cuisine at three-day festival in Karachi 

  • UAE consulate in Karachi kicks off celebrations ahead of nation’s National Day 
  • UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and major source of remittances

KARACHI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consul General in Karachi this week paid a visit to promote several stalls selling Arab cuisine and highlighting Arab culture at a three-day festival in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, ahead of the Gulf nation’s National Day. 
Sindh’s Culture Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah inaugurated the three-day Sindh Craft Festival on Friday which showcases traditional shawls, quilts, handlooms, and caps made by artists from all over Sindh at Karachi’s famous Port Grand entertainment hub. 
UAE Consul General Dr. Bakheet Ateeq Al Rumaithi visited the festival on Friday to highlight Arab cuisine and review stalls promoting Arab culture at the festival. The UAE consulate is gearing up for celebrations to mark the nation’s 53rd National Day on Dec. 2.
“Various stalls have been set up at Port Grand keeping in mind Arab culture,” the UAE Consulate in Karachi said in a statement on Friday. 

Sindh’s Culture Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah (2L) inaugurates three-day Sindh Craft Festival during an event to mark the UAE’s 53rd National Day in Karachi on November 22, 2024. (Photo courtesy: UAE Consulate Karachi)

Al Rumaithi noted that women, children and the elderly were all taking part in the three-day cultural festival. 
“We have a centuries-old relationship with Pakistan which is strengthening,” he observed. 

UAE Consul General Dr. Bakheet Ateeq Al Rumaithi (5R) cuts the cake to celebrate the UAE’s 53rd National Day in Karachi on November 22, 2024. (Photo courtesy: UAE Consulate Karachi)

The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and a major source of foreign investment, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE ministry of foreign affairs. The UAE-Pakistan trade volume rose to $7.9 billion in 2023, up 12 percent from 2022. 
In May this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the Emirates had committed $10 billion to invest in promising economic sectors in Pakistan. The Pakistan Business Council (PBC), set up this September at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also aims to increase Pakistan’s bilateral trade volume with the UAE to $40 billion in three years.
The UAE is also home to more than a million Pakistani expatriates and the second-largest source of remittances to Pakistan after Saudi Arabia.


T20 Blind Cricket World Cup kicks off in Pakistan today sans India’s participation

Updated 23 November 2024
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T20 Blind Cricket World Cup kicks off in Pakistan today sans India’s participation

  • Pakistan’s blind cricket team to take on South Africa in Lahore today
  • India failed to secure clearance from government to travel to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The fourth T20 Blind Cricket World Cup will kick off today, Saturday, with Pakistan set to face South Africa in the eastern city of Lahore, state-run media reported days after India pulled out of the tournament.
The T20 Blind Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be held in Pakistan from Nov. 23-Dec. 3. As per Radio Pakistan, the tournament will feature blind cricket teams from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Nepal and Afghanistan.  
“In the Fourth edition of the Blind Cricket T20 World Cup, the opening match will be played between South Africa and Pakistan in Lahore today,” Radio Pakistan said. 
India was also scheduled to take part in the tournament but the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) announced on Wednesday that its blind cricket team was withdrawing from the event, citing its failure to secure clearance from New Delhi to travel to Pakistan. 
Political tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have restricted cultural exchanges and bilateral sports events between the two nations.
Both countries have fought three wars, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
India withdrew its blind cricket team from the tournament with a little over three months left before the start of the 2025 Champions Trophy, which is also set to be held in Pakistan in February/March next year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informed the International Cricket Council (ICC) this month that India will not travel to Pakistan for the tournament.
The ICC informed the PCB of the BCCI’s decision, following which Pakistan demanded an explanation from the cricket governing body. Pakistan has repeatedly insisted it will not agree for the tournament to be shifted to another country and has insisted India travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all of India’s games were played in Sri Lanka under a “hybrid” hosting model for the tournament. Several months later, Pakistan traveled to India for the 50-over World Cup.


Pakistani authorities block roads and motorways ahead of opposition’s Islamabad protest

Updated 23 November 2024
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Pakistani authorities block roads and motorways ahead of opposition’s Islamabad protest

  • Jailed Imran Khan’s party has called for a “long march” to Islamabad on Nov. 24 to demand his release
  • Motorway police say as per intelligence reports, protesters will be armed with sticks and slingshots

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) has said that motorways across the country have been sealed from various areas to protect people’s lives ahead of a planned protest by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to Islamabad on Sunday.
Pakistani authorities sealed off major arteries and roads with shipping containers leading to Islamabad from the surrounding Rawalpindi city and other areas on Friday ahead of the PTI’s “long march” scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 24.
In a notification released on Friday, the NHMP cited intelligence reports that protesters were planning to disrupt law and order in the capital, adding that they would be armed with sticks and slingshots.
“To prevent any untoward situation and to protect the lives of the people, motorways have been closed from various locations,” the NHMP said.
“The lives and property of the people will be guaranteed at all costs. Those who take the law into their hands will be dealt with strictly.”
Hours earlier, the NHMP had shared a notification on its social media platform X in which it had said that certain sections of the motorway were closed due to maintenance work. These sections were: M-1 Islamabad to Peshawar, M-2 Islamabad to Lahore, M-3 Lahore to Abdul Hakeem, M-4 Pindi Bhattian to Multan, M-14 Hakla to Yarik and M-11 Lahore to Sialkot.
As per local media reports, the Metro Bus service between the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi will be suspended on Nov. 24 while a ban on public gatherings has been imposed in Punjab from Nov. 23-25 ahead of the PTI’s march.
The PTI’s protest is primarily aimed at pressurizing the government to end Khan’s imprisonment which has lasted for over a year on what his party contends are politically motivated charges. The party also aims to raise its voice against alleged rigging in the Feb. 8 general elections while calling for measures to ensure judicial independence, which it says has been undermined by the 26th constitutional amendment. The government denies this. 
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s interior ministry had authorized the deployment of paramilitary Punjab Rangers and Frontier Corps troops in Islamabad to maintain law and order.
Pakistan’s parliament also passed a law earlier this year to regulate public gatherings in Islamabad, specifying timings for rallies and designating specific areas. The law prescribes three-year jail terms for participants in illegal assemblies and 10-year imprisonment for repeat offenders.